If you love Burgundy but feel, at times, that the region is spiraling away from you, we are sending this offer with you in mind.  In fact, our single most frequent request is for ready-to-drink, real-deal Burg at a price point well below the region’s ceiling.  This most often means looking to up-and-coming producers and/or exploring little overlooked nooks of the Côte d’Or where the possibility of finding a bit of magic at a realistic price is still in play.  
 
This wine may touch the high end of such a price range, and yet a recent bottle of Nicole Lamarche’s 2014 Clos Vougeot struck me as refreshingly ‘in range’ given its particulars.  First, we are guided by a young, indefatigable, and underappreciated vigneronne.  The wine itself issues from three well-sited parcels in the most historic vineyard in the whole of Burgundy, grand cru or otherwise.  And the past half decade has softened the firm spine I’d noted after release, replacing these with a suppler middle and more contoured edges.  I love the mix of red and black fruit as well as the way the wine’s refreshing frankness doesn’t distract from its grand cru ‘seriousness.’  - Jason

Nicole is one of the most underrated winemakers in the region.  Not only does she have a strong character and personality, she makes some of the most terroir driven wines in the Côte de Nuits.  The Clos Vougeot is coming from 4 great plots including Montiotes Hautes, Petit Maupertui, and Baudes Hautes, and the wine is full of high toned red fruits with dry flowers and strong minerality.  I loved the purity and transparency that reminds me of a great German Riesling with the powerful backbone structure of Clos Vougeot. - Daniel

Nicole Lamarche has been producing wonderful wines over the last decade, really coming into her own not long after taking over the domaine in 2006. The wines were gradually less and less markedly extracted and more vividly precise, with floral elements coming sharply into the foreground. Fortunately the prices of the wines have not caught up to the quality. In the large and (for many reasons) prominent vineyard of Clos Vougeot, this underpricing seems especially sharp.

Nicole vinified with 30% whole clusters and punched-down infrequently, extracting tannin with characteristic restraint. After time in bottle the oak has really folded into the fruit, contributing a subtle chestnut to the gamey strawberry and black cherry. There’s excellent violet and rose notes melded with subtle stem-spice. Tannins are refined and chalky, with vivid acidity and the lovely energy of the vintage. This is lovely now but will continue to improve for another 5+ years.

 Cheers,

- Spencer